Advancing Our ESG Strategic Journey

IN LATE 2021, Equifax announced an accelerated commitment to its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) priorities, making ESG disclosures available annually on Equifax.com.

The company continues to demonstrate strong momentum across its ESG priorities, as detailed in the newly-published open letter from CEO Mark W. Begor, who notes: “As part of our commitment to creating a more inclusive global economy, we are making a strong investment in ESG priorities in a way that is aligned with our company purpose — to help people live their financial best. This purpose drives our 13,000 global employees every day.”

Here are some of the ways Equifax is advancing our ESG initiatives. 

 

Continued leadership in security 

There’s little if any aspect of Equifax’s security program that hasn’t been completely overhauled from what was in place in 2017. In recent years, Equifax has invested $1.5 billion to build a top-tier, cloud-native security infrastructure and has embedded security throughout its enterprise – from new product innovation and M&A strategy, to digital supply chain security and employee training 

Equifax’s investments have led to strong results from third-party assessments of the company’s cybersecurity capabilities, as outlined in Equifax’s inaugural Security Annual Report in 2020 and its latest Security Annual Report, released last month. In multiple independent ratings, the company’s security maturity and posture exceed every major industry benchmark as measured by independent third parties. 

With a cybersecurity program that is considered one of the most advanced and effective in business today, Equifax is continuing to invest, innovate and collaborate in ways that make our company and those around us more secure. 

 

Driving greater workforce diversity and inclusion 

At Equifax, fostering a culture in which top performers of all backgrounds contribute at their highest levels is a cornerstone of our long-term success. It’s important that our employees can look around and feel a sense of belonging amidst a diverse group of talented professionals. 

In 2021, 77% of the Equifax senior leadership team (defined as direct reports of the CEO and certain other key executives) reflected gender, racial or ethnic diversity; 38% of the senior leadership team identified as female; and women comprised 44% of the Equifax global workforce. During that same time, 41% of Equifax U.S. employees identified with diverse racial and ethnic groups. Equifax shares diversity data and details regarding its inclusion and diversity initiatives through annual EEO-1 and SASB reports and discussion on its ESG website.

Employee networks, ongoing inclusion & diversity training and diverse slate requirements for professional and managerial roles are just some of the ways Equifax is driving even more change. Check out these recent Newsroom spotlights on Equifax employee networks sparking an inclusive culture such as Black History Month and Women’s History Month. 

 

Reducing environmental impact 

Equifax has committed to reach net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2040, an important sustainability commitment enabled by our Equifax Cloud™.

In 2021, Equifax started to track environmental impacts in a more detailed manner by examining and disclosing the company’s emissions of greenhouse gas. Enhanced environmental disclosures so far in 2022 include an initial Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) report and 2021 GHG emissions data. In the Equifax TCFD report and on Equifax.com, the reported combined scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions have decreased each year since 2019, with an approximate 13.5% decrease between 2019 and 2021 and an approximate 3% decrease between 2020 and 2021.  

 

Increasing financial inclusion

Financial inclusion is about ensuring everyone has access to basic financial services regardless of their income or socioeconomic status. Equifax plays a critical role in improving access to financial opportunities through a robust suite of alternative data assets, helping people apply for a job or mortgage, finance their education, or buy a car. With ongoing investments in new data sets, Equifax insights helps enable access to credit for the over 60 million U.S. consumers who are either unbanked or under-banked.

In 2021, Equifax delivered two big “firsts” - announcing the availability of the industry’s first and only U.S. credit report in Spanish, as well as being the first to include Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) tradelines in its U.S. consumer credit files. Most recently, Equifax, in a joint measure with its industry peers, announced significant changes to medical collection debt reporting in an effort to better support consumers facing unexpected medical bills.  

Equifax’s commitment to expanding financial inclusion goes beyond the products, services and resources provided to our customers. We are helping people live their financial best through credit education and financial knowledge resources, available on our website, as well as through nonprofit partnerships in the communities around the world. 

These are just some of the ways that Equifax is delivering on our ESG priorities, but there is still more work to be done. We’ll continue to update our website about our ESG journey, and we hope you’ll join forces with us along the way. 

 

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This article contains information that may constitute “forward-looking statements.” Generally, the words “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “project,” “will,” “may” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which generally are not historical in nature. All statements that address operating or environmental performance and events or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future, including statements relating to future operating results and plans for reducing our environmental footprint and greenhouse gas emissions and making improvements in our IT and data security infrastructure, are forward-looking statements. We believe these forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made. However, forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our historical experience and our present expectations or projections. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those described in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. As a result of such risks and uncertainties, we urge you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date when made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.